The War Between the Border Patrol & the INS

Well, the war between the Border Patrol and the INS is heating up. That is the subject of this evening's Talking Points Memo.

As you may know, the Seattle INS office released accused sniper John Lee Malvo over the objections of the Border Patrol, which had taken him and his mother into custody. The two had been smuggled into the USA illegally from the Caribbean.

A INS officer named Blake Brown changed Malvo's status, and he was released unsupervised. The rest is history t. The Border Patrol is so angry about this that a Darryl Schermerhorn, a senior agent, came on The Factor a couple of weeks ago to tell the story.

Now the INS Has fired back at Agent Schermerhorn. The Factor has obtained this letter written by Rob Barker, an INS assistant regional director overseeing detention and removal operations in Seattle. The letter to Schermerhorn says, quote, "Your representation of the INS was an outright misrepresentation of the truth. You aided and abetted O'Reilly's insinuation that the INS released a killer. In reality, the INS released a noncriminal 16-year-old boy to the custody of his noncriminal mother.

"This type of thing happens across the service hundreds of times a day. The INS simply does not have the resources to detain every alien the Border Patrol apprehends.

"Your agenda, whatever it may be, is counterproductive to the thousands of INS personnel who are doing their best in spite of the limitations placed on them by Congress, uncooperative foreign counsel, its nongovernmental officials, pro bono attorneys, and special interest groups. You unwittingly allowed yourself to be used as a pawn by the likes of O'Reilly and Michelle Malkin. You fed them enough misinformation to allow them to grab a few more headlines."

Now. We've invited Mr. Barker to appear on the The Factor, but he says his superiors will not allow it. But his point of view does have some validity. Politics and political correctness have hurt the INS. Besides that, the letter offers proof of what we have been saying all along, that illegal immigration's completely out of control in this country, and Congress and the president are simply not confronting the problem.

The INS and the Border Patrol are overwhelmed by millions of illegal aliens, the borders remain open, and few in Washington give a hoot. As for the attack on me and Miss Malkin, the messengers always get attacked in this country, that's just the way it is.

But what we're saying is true. The federal government refuses to protect us, and the INS is allowing millions of illegals to swarm the country. John Malvo and the three 9/11 killers who were in this country illegally are the poster boys for that.

This situation is as serious as it gets, ladies and gentlemen. Yet most in the media and Congress simply fiddle around. Nero would be proud.

And that's the memo.

And that's The Memo .

The Villain of the Week

Time now for the"Villain of the Week"...

It is actor Dylan McDermott, one of the stars of the ABC News -- ABC series, I should say, The Practice.

As you may know, Mr. McDermott is the front man on the VH-1 series, Music Behind Bars, which, so far, has glorified four convicted murderers, bringing pain to the families of the victims. McDermott was paid for his participation. The Factor has asked him for a statement regarding the program. He has ignored our request.

Dylan McDermott owes the public an explanation, and he should also donate his fee to a victims' rights group. Nobody should be making money putting killers on television for entertainment purposes.

You can hide, but you're still a villain. You have blood money, and you'll remain a villain until you do the right thing.